Item C: Enhancing Metro Area Fire and Emergency Medical Services

Home Browse Search

ECC UGENE ITY OUNCIL AIS GENDA TEM UMMARY Work Session: Enhancing Metro Area Fire and Emergency Medical Services Meeting Date: June 25, 2007 Agenda Item Number: C Department: Fire and Emergency Medical Services Staff Contact: Randy Groves www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 682-7115 ISSUE STATEMENT This is an informational work session regarding the 3-Battalion concept. The 3-Battalion concept builds upon the existing automatic aid relationship between Eugene Fire & Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Springfield Fire & Life Safety Departments, by expanding automatic aid throughout both communities and increasing fire and emergency medical services response capacities of both departments. Additionally, each jurisdiction has made its systems compatible with the other’s. The 3- Battalion concept will allow Eugene and Springfield residents to receive the most rapid and efficient emergency response possible, regardless of which jurisdiction they live in. No action is required of the City Council at this work session. BACKGROUND The 3- Battalion concept is not a new program. It is a dramatic improvement of an existing, automatic aid relationship between the Eugene Fire & EMS and Springfield Fire & Life Safety departments. 3-Battalion is an example of teamwork between government agencies that delivers better service to the public. Using a partnership between two battalions in Eugene and one battalion in Springfield, each jurisdiction’s department will be able to temporarily support the other and provide superior coverage depth without significantly disrupting service or subsidizing the other. Each battalion consists of a supervisor and five or six fire and emergency medical services stations. The two departments have made their relationship more responsive through streamlined communications, greater coordination of existing systems and response protocols, and more familiarity by agency personnel with each other as well as with infrastructure within the two communities. Eugene and Springfield already support each other’s calls. Beginning July 2, 2007, under 3-Battalion, they will respond to the same overall number of calls, but with systems, equipment, training and other essential details that have been made virtually identical so they can respond seamlessly across jurisdictional boundaries to ensure the closest and most appropriate resource is dispatched. Details: 3-Battalion Every intersection on a map in both communities has a response order based on proximity of station, ? location and equipment type. The 3-Battalion system integrates all 16 Eugene and Springfield stations so the closest and most appropriate resources are dispatched to all calls for service. As resources are committed, response coverage is maintained in both communities using “automatic ? move-up,” the moving of EMS and Fire companies to cover stations whose units have responded to L:\CMO\2007 Council Agendas\M070625\S070625C.DOC